The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of security requirements for any organization that stores, processes, or transmits card data.
PCI DSS is managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, founded by major card brands. It sets requirements covering secure networks, protecting stored cardholder data, vulnerability management, access control, monitoring, and security policies. Version 4.0 was published in 2022, with its future-dated requirements taking effect in 2025.
Any business that accepts card payments must comply in some way, though the effort depends on how card data is handled and transaction volume. A small shop using a modern card terminal or a hosted payment page from a provider may have a short self-assessment questionnaire, because card data never touches its own systems. A company storing card numbers on its own servers faces far more extensive requirements. Using tokenization and reputable payment processors is a common way to reduce compliance scope.
A service that securely captures and transmits payment details from a customer to the banks and networks that approve the transaction.
Payment ProcessorA company that handles the technical and financial steps of card and digital payments between a merchant, card networks, and banks.
SOC 2An auditing framework from the AICPA that assesses how a service company protects customer data, based on five trust services criteria.
TokenizationReplacing sensitive data with non-sensitive substitutes called tokens, or breaking text into tokens that AI models can process.
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